


i be up in the gym just working on my fitness

by cosetties



Series: you better work, bitch [1]
Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Meetings, Fluff, Gyms, M/M, Pining, isak is an adorable nerd and even is into it, no angst in an au???, what's happening to me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-02 22:02:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11518380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosetties/pseuds/cosetties
Summary: Even knows that he's quite literally going to die when he finds his crush sweating on an elliptical, reading a book with his glasses slipping down his nose.





	i be up in the gym just working on my fitness

**Author's Note:**

> i quite literally don't know what this is, but i've been working out more, so i guess i had to channel that into something!! much thanks to [ceecee](http://westiris.tumblr.com/) for looking over this!! my brain refused to let me work on my WIP before i got this out of my system.

The day Even is sure he would die comes on a Tuesday, ordinary as any other. He’d started the morning by stubbornly insisting on scrambling himself some eggs, even though he’d been running ten minutes late to his mandatory art history class, then had snored his way through a lecture on Neoclassicism until last-name-Valtersen shuffles in, weighed down by the four textbooks in his arms.

Even had then engaged in a spot of light pining, which had turned into heavy pining when Valtersen pulled his snapback off, letting his curls go wild. Even still hasn’t worked up the courage to talk to him, doesn’t even know his first name, but one day, maybe.

Valtersen nearly trips over his own feet as he makes his way up the stairs of the lecture hall, letting a textbook fall in the process. Even can’t help but find it endearing, can’t help but let a smile slip over his face, unbidden. If this is what two months of hopeless pining has already done for his nerves, he can’t imagine what would happen when he actually _talks_ to the guy. Though, at the rate he’s going, Even’s in close danger of losing his youthful good looks before ever meeting Valtersen, and then what would he have to work with? His natural charm and sparkling personality? That’s just a fucking recipe for disaster.

He ends up doodling the back of Valtersen’s head instead of giving a rat’s ass about the lecture. His professor’s going on and on about symmetry and clarity and the hints of Roman architecture, but the most beautiful sight in the world is sitting in the same room he is, so he thinks he’s got a pretty good grasp on art already.

Typical Tuesday, really.

Of course it couldn’t fucking last.

Even nearly kills Mikael when he drops down at his feet the middle of a rep, and it’s only his coordination and sheer luck that stops the bar from dropping right onto his chest.

“What the hell, man?” Mikael pants, shooting upright. “I could’ve died.”

Even sighs dramatically, throwing his arms over his head. “But you didn’t, and that’s what matters. Besides, I’m going through a _crisis.”_

“A crisis,” Mikael deadpans.

“A crisis,” Even affirms.

“Is this like the time when you couldn’t decide whether you were more into Leonardo di Caprio or Kate Winslet? Or when you made a flowchart to prove to me that Baz Luhrmann is the best director alive today?”

“I still think that they were all real crises, and deserved your unwavering attention.”

Mikael sighs, wiping the sweat on his forehead with a towel. He gives one last lingering look at the weights, but seems to have resigned to a shortened workout. “What is it now?”

“So you know about Valtersen, right?”

“No, who are you talking about?”

Even gives him a strange look. “I thought I’d mentioned him before. Anyway, he’s this guy in my art history class—that really boring 8 o’clock one—and he has the best hair and the nicest eyes, and when he smiles, he just looks so kind, you know? Like—“

Mikael rubs his eyes. “Dude, I was just fucking with you. You’ve told us. Repeatedly. I know about all the cute snapbacks he wears, and the one time he wore a scarf that made you want to cuddle him, and his blush every time boobs show up in the lecture.”

Even cringes internally. He has no doubt that he’s really been this annoying ever since he set eyes on Valtersen, but when he gets started talking about the guy, there’s very little that can make him stop. Even finds every detail about him fascinating, from the way he seems to hide under the weight of his hoodies to the diligence with which he examines every minute detail of their old textbook.

“Sorry,” Even says sheepishly.

“Don’t worry about it, man. I’m just glad you’re over Sonja.” Mikael makes a face. His best friend has made no secret of his disapproval of Even’s ex, but he’s only made it clearer in the months since they’ve broken up. Even doesn’t mind much, though they still text occasionally. He harbors no ill will towards her, even if Mikael insists that he blame her, at least a little, for the way their relationship had ended. But Even’s never been able to hold a grudge, and Sonja had been one of the most important people in his life for a very long time. It’s hard to let that go.

Mikael punches his shoulder playfully. “Anyway, what’s the crisis?”

Even groans. “Valtersen’s out there, working out _.”_

“Yeah, that’s what people tend to do in a gym,” Mikael says drily.

Even makes a pained sound. “He’s on the elliptical, and his legs are, like, so nice _._ There’s sweat everywhere. And you know what the worst part is? Do you want to know?”

“I don’t think saying no would make a difference,” Mikael says, trying—and failing—to keep his smirk under wraps.

But Even barely hears him. “He’s reading a _book,_ on parallel universes of all things, while he’s working out.” Even throws his arms around Mikael’s shoulders. “Save me,” he sighs.

“I don’t see what the big deal is? So what if he’s risking injury? You’d probably still be into him.”

Even shakes his head. “No, you don’t get it. He has his glasses on, and they keep slipping down his nose, and I literally never thought this was everything I wanted. It’s like this guy was perfectly crafted to kill me.”

Mikael tries to shove him off, but Even only clings on more tightly, pouting. “Only you would get turned on by how pretentious this is. Do you even hear yourself?”

Yousef chooses that moment to re-enter the weight room.

“Dude, what the hell? You were supposed to spot me!” Mikael yells when Yousef jogs over to them. “You missed Even having a crisis. Of the _heart,”_ he says in disgust.

Yousef looks a little ashamed, at least. “Sorry, I was texting Sana.”

Even exchanges a look with Yousef, who winks. As the two true romantics in their group, it’s always been up to them to remind everyone that feelings exist. Neither of them can claim to be _successful_ romantics, since Yousef’s idea of flirting is throwing grass in Sana’s face, and Even’s case is too pathetic to even consider, but the sentiment is there.

Mikael throws his hands in the air. “ _Love_ ,” he says disgustedly.

* * *

Just as Even thinks he’s gotten his breathing under control, he runs into Valtersen at the water fountain.

Valtersen starts clapping him on the back when he’s thrown into a coughing fit. Even never thought that the first time he’d get Valtersen’s hands on him would be under these circumstances, but he’d take what he could get. Valtersen just looks so much better up close, with his hair matted to his forehead and his gym shorts showing off his muscular legs in just the right way. Even wants to lick every drop of sweat off his body. Buff, muscular guys covered in sweat and dirt aren’t usually his thing. But the look works on Valtersen, just adds another layer to the boy he’s pined for from afar.

Thank God he’s wearing skinny jeans today.

“Are you okay?” Valtersen says.

“Yes,” Even chokes out. “I just need a moment.”

His lungs finally manage to stop convulsing after another minute, and when he looks up, he finds himself looking into Valtersen’s appraising eyes.

“You’re in my art history class, aren’t you?” Valtersen says. “You asked the professor if he thought Michelangelo was gay.”

At least he’s noticed Even. “I’m pretty sure I was still drunk from the night before.” Now that he’s drinking less, he’s turned into a lightweight. The guys never let him live it down.

“It wasn’t a bad question,” Valtersen says, smirking.

Is this a sign? Does he mean _I’m glad you asked if Michelangelo was gay because I, as a straight ally, think we need to have more frank discussions about queerness_ or _I’m glad you asked if Michelangelo was gay because I, as a fellow gay, am curious, and by the way, I’d really like to bone the guy standing in front of me right now?_

Even wishes he were given a crash course on this when he’d come out. But he’s never needed to know as badly as he does now.

Valtersen holds out a hand. “I’m Isak, by the way,” he says.

Isak’s hand is just the right amount of soft for Even to melt into. “I’m Even.”

For the first time, Even notices that Isak’s holding all his day clothes in his arms. He’d probably only changed into his gym clothes here.

Isak chuckles when he figures out the direction of Even’s stare. “My friends thought it would be a good idea to draw dicks all over my backpack last night, so I’m waiting for it to dry. These idiots, just because I _like_ dick—“

Isak hesitates when he looks back at Even’s face. “Sorry, do you have a problem with that, or…” Isak says warily.

Even’s trying hard not to make his grin too obvious, and Isak could very well be mistaking the weird twist of his mouth for distaste.

Which is an injustice he has to set right immediately. “No, no, no,” he says quickly. “I like dick, too. It’s great. Amazing, awesome, I have one, you have one, it’s so cool.”

Even’s face is overheating, but Isak just grins at him. “Super cool,” he says.

“I saw you reading on the elliptical earlier,” Even says, quickly changing the subject before he manages to embarrass himself further. He thinks he manages to pull off casual pretty well. There’s no way Isak will know that the sight of him had nearly sent Even to his grave.

Now it’s Isak’s turn to blush. “I know it’s weird—“

There’s no way Even’s going to let him get away with thinking _that._ “It’s not weird. I think it’s cool, that you’re dedicated to school, I mean.”

Isak ducks his head. “Oh, this wasn’t for a class, I’m just reading this for fun.”

Even raises his eyebrows at the sheer size of the book. “Light reading?”

“Parallel universes are really interesting—there are so many theories about them. It seems like total science fiction, but when you really look at the physics of it, they could very well be real. I mean, Einstein’s theory of relativity—“ Isak sucks in a breath. “You probably don’t want to hear about all this.”

Even could listen to Isak talk forever, if he’s being honest, but that may be too much to reveal before Even’s gotten the chance to romance Isak properly.

Isak says, “My friends would laugh if they knew. They were the ones who bet that I couldn’t last a week working out.”

“Not a gym regular, then?”

Isak winces. “Was it obvious?”

“The opposite, really. You looked like a natural up there. Like your legs were made for that elliptical,” Even says.

The shameless flirting pays off when Isak’s blush spreads even wider. This is better than Even could’ve imagined. He sends a silent thanks to Mikael for making him bring the keys over that day. If this works out, Even’s never going to complain about Mikael’s forgetful ass again.  

“Really?” Isak says. “The guys dared me to do this in the first place because I’m too scrawny.”

“I think you’re perfect.”

There’s an awkward pause where Even thinks he’s finally laying it on too thick, that Isak’s going to run away screaming about the stalker who’d cornered him by the water fountain. But after a moment, Isak shakes his head, smile tugging at his lips. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

Even resists the urge to pump his fist. Yousef’s going to lose his shit when he finds out. Who knew making your intentions clear could work better than acting like an awkward twelve-year-old? The days of Yousef stealing Sana’s basketball may be in the past.

Even only realizes that he’s taking too long to respond when Isak seems to shrink in on himself. “Shit, I don’t know what came over me. I’m not usually this forward, but I think the workout melted all my brain cells away, I’m just gonna go now—“

In a move far more graceful than Even knew he was capable of, he jumps in front of Isak. The last time he went to the gym may have been months ago, but maybe he doesn’t need it after all.

“I think you’re really hot,” Even says quickly. “I mean, literally hot, yes, because you’re sweating, but I’ve kind of been staring at you in class for weeks, which I know sounds creepy, but you’re just hard to ignore. But we can go into all of that later. I guess what I’m trying to say is—do you want to hang out sometime?”

He only hopes that Mikael will never hear about this. He sounds like a fucking idiot, but sometimes idiots get the boy. Isak’s grin grows slowly, but soon, he’s beaming back at Even. It’s a sight Even will have trouble forgetting, but hopefully, that won’t matter, if he has the privilege of keeping it around for a while.

“I do have another week of this, and a gym buddy may make it easier,” Isak says.

Even winces. Isak may look like an angel no matter what he’s doing, but Even wouldn’t blame Isak for ditching him after he sees Even’s sweaty ass struggle among all the gym fanatics here. The last time he’d tried a bench press, he could barely lift the bar.

Isak must sense his hesitation, because his voice drops low, and the has the audacity to flutter his goddamn eyelashes. “My old roommate bought me a pair of leggings a while back, and I’ve always wanted to try yoga. People tell me I’m pretty flexible.”

Even shakes his head fondly. “I can’t believe this boy I have a crush on is forcing me to be _healthy.”_

“He’s lucky he’s cute, then.”

Cute, and smart, and so easy to talk to Even can’t believe he’s lived his entire life without Isak Valtersen in it.

“I think I’m the lucky one,” Even says.

**Author's Note:**

> you can follow me tumblr at [bechnaesun](http://bechnaesun.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
